New York state homeowner assistance fund By Sandra Cotthaus
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fter two years of dramatic real estate activity, the market is cooling down. In fact, going by the latest stats, homes are staying on the market for 134 days, up by 13 days compared to April Last year. Additionally, the home prices for a median property in Newburgh have increased at 10.8 percent compared to last year, now standing at $399,000. Several factors have led to this dramatic increase. In the last two years, the low mortgage rates were the primary driver, and many people felt the need to capitalize on the rate. Ultimately, many buyers would be forced into a bidding war which put pressure on the housing market. Additionally, the supply and demand imbalance also played a huge role where the available units weren’t enough to beat the demand. While the mortgage rate is rising, you’d expect the activity in the markets to cool down, which is happening, but because of inflation, builders aren’t building as they should! But, the population has been steadily decreasing, and over the last four years, Newburgh has lost about 0.6%. Population decrease results from high
living standards and increased poverty among people in Newburgh, making people migrate to other areas where they can afford it. Speaking of affordability, did you know? • • • •
Average affordable monthly apartment cost in Newburgh is $791.00 State of New York Median Income is $115,700 State of New York Median Metropolitan Income is $74,400 State of New York’s Median Non-Metropolitan Income is $62,500.
The high unemployment rate in Newburgh has made life harder for people to live there. Home prices in Newburgh are increasing rapidly, and people cannot simply keep up! This makes it worse for those people who wish to live in Newburgh but cannot afford it. To solve this challenge, the New York government started a program known as the homeowner’s assistance fund to assist homeowners at risk of default, displacement, and foreclosure. This program is funded by the
federal government and is administered by community renewal and New York state homes. The program mainly assists those who have been facing financial hardships since the Pandemic of covid 19. This fund also assists houserelated costs like loan payment assistance, utilities, loan reinstatement, insurance, Newburgh homeownership is seen to be growing at a low pace because of the challenges in the area. Population decrease shows that homeownership in Newburgh is also decreasing, although home prices are increasing. The inflation in the United States has increased home construction costs and significantly increased house prices in the past few months. This has continued to push people out of Newburgh. From the stats we are seeing right now, the future of the Newburgh real estate market seems uncertain. However, I like what the government is doing, recognizing the problem and stepping in to remedy it, which will improve the conditions shortly. While house prices in Newburgh aren’t the most enticing, low to median households can comfortably afford a house in Newburgh. JUNE 2022 | 131
